Out of the Cage
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Sam's hallucinations are gone, and things should be able to go back to normal for Sam, Right? Except his memories of the Cage are now more powerful than ever. Now he's plagued with nightmares and flashbacks. What happened to Sam while he was at Lucifer's mercy, and can he overcome it? And what about the other archangel trapped there with him?
1. Chapter 1

Sam sat in the passenger seat of the Impala and stared out the window. He'd stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket because he knew if he didn't, Dean would see them trembling, as they had been doing since they left the mental hospital.

Dean thought it was all over. Sam was no longer hallucinating Lucifer. Cas had taken his insanity on himself. But what Dean failed to understand was that the insanity was a blessing in disguise.

The Hallucinations were terrible. Sam could honestly say he hated every single one, but now that they were gone, he was all too aware that they served a purpose. They kept memories away. Well, they didn't exactly keep them away. He still had them, but with Lucifer in his head, it made it easier not to dwell on them. But with Lucifer gone, all he had were those memories that would never fade.

Dean looked over at his brother. "Hey. You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Sam said. Dean didn't want to know how he truly was. He didn't want to know that what he was dealing with now was worse than the insanity. Dean wanted to hear that the problem was solved. Maybe he actually thought it was. Maybe he thought that Cas took his memories of the Cage, along with the hallucinations. If only that was the case.

"Look, I didn't like leaving Cas behind, but we didn't have a choice," Dean said. He could see that his brother was uneasy. He could only guess it was leaving Cas at that hospital.

Sam nodded. Truthfully, he had mixed feelings about that. A part of him hated leaving Cas alone to deal with his hallucinations. He'd even said that as they were leaving. But the other part of him didn't care what Cas was going through. The other part of him hated Cas for tearing his wall down. He was okay then. There were no memories or hallucinations to haunt him. He could be who he was before he hurled himself into that cage.

"You're not saying a whole lot. Are you sure you're okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I'm just tired. Its been a long few days," Sam said.

"Right. You haven't gotten any sleep. You should do that now," Dean said.

Sam knew sleep wouldn't come to him, but he closed his eyes anyway, deciding to at least fake it. And the Cage was all he saw.

 _Flashback_

 _The decent into the cage was a long one. Sam felt like he'd been falling for days. But eventually, he hit the bottom._

 _Michael fell next to him. The eldest archangel could not hide his horror at what had happened. He'd clearly never expected this possibility, not even as he grabbed Sam to stop him from jumping._

 _Lucifer exited Sam body at this point and stared down at Sam with nothing but rage._

 _Sam gulped. He knew he was about to experience more torture than anyone had ever faced. Even Dean's forty years on the rack would pale in comparison._

" _Run!" an urgent voice said next to Sam. It was Michael's voice. Well, it was Adam's voice, but it was Michael. Sam knew this because he'd seen Michael expel Adam's soul as they fell._

" _Run!" Michael yelled at Sam again._

 _Sam clumsily got to his feet and started running. It was then that he realized how big the Cage was. It wasn't a typical one. It seemed to go on for miles. Not that it mattered. It was still a cage, and Lucifer still caught up with him._

 _Lucifer appeared in front of Sam. He lifted him up by the throat and choked him. "You thought you could run from me, Sam? You are in my domain. We are going to have some fun, seeing as you've trapped us here for eternity."_

 _Sam gagged and choked as Lucifer cut off his Oxygen. He knew he wouldn't die. He was already dead, really. But it was still extremely painful._

 _Lucifer smiled cruelly and waved his hand. Fire immediately surrounded Sam's entire body._

 _Sam would've screamed if he could've._

 _Flashback_

Sam's eyes popped open and he shuddered. He didn't even have to be asleep for the Cage to plague his mind. That memory had only been the first of centuries worth of nightmares.

"Hey, I thought you were going to go to sleep," Dean said.

"I can't. I guess wired at the same time as being tired," Sam said.

"Yeah, I guess I would be too after none-stop hallucinations. We got lucky to get you rid of those. We really owe Cas for taking them," Dean said.

Sam glared at his brother, though the older man didn't notice, as his eyes were on the road. He'd didn't owe Cas anything, and he found it annoying that his brother could just forget what the angel did to Sam. Cas had destroyed him just so he could literally play God, and the more Sam thought about the Cage, the angrier he got about that.

"Hey, so I say we get some miles between us and that hospital and then we'll check into a motel. You should be able to rest then," Dean said.

"Sounds good," Sam said almost numbly.

"We could stop at a drive-through and get some food if you want first," Dean said.

"I'm alright. Let's just drive," Sam said

"Look, man, everything's okay now. We'll take a few days for you to recover and then everything will be back to normal," Dean said. His brother seemed a bit weird right now, but he was sure it was just from the hallucinations. He just needed to time to recover from them. After some rest, things would be fine.

Sam wanted to laugh and scream at the same time. The idea that anything was okay or normal was laughable and maddening. Like anything could ever be normal after the Cage. Like they could ever be okay. Things weren't okay. They never would be again.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam sat at on his bed late at night trying as hard as he could to keep his eyes open. He didn't enjoy sleeping anymore. In fact, he completely hated it. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the cage. He either relived old memories or dreamed that he was still there, being tortured by Lucifer constantly.

Sam looked over to his brother, who was out cold. Dean was oblivious to what was going on with him. He believed everything was just fine since Cas took on Sam's insanity. Honestly, Sam preferred it this way. Well, most of the time anyway. It drove him nuts sometimes how his brother could just assume everything was fine, especially since Dean knew what Hell was like. But most of the time, Sam believed it was better this way. He preferred it to the questions Dean would ask if he knew the truth, or the pitiful looks he would undoubtedly send his way.

Sam soon lost the fight to keep his eyes open and slowly drifted off to sleep. The memories in the form of a dream quickly followed.

 _Dream_

 _Sam screamed loudly. He was chained to a wall in the cage while Lucifer used a knife to carve into his chest._

 _Lucifer hummed as he worked. "Your screams always sound wonderful. It's almost worth getting sent back here. Tell me, was it worth it for you? If you'd just done as you were supposed to you would've been nice and safe trapped in your body. Now your nothing more than my torture dummy. Was it worth it?" he asked as he continued to care Sam up._

 _Sam spoke through his screams. "Y…yes."_

" _Hmm. Let's see how you feel about that after a century or two. After all, we have all the time in the world to make you see the error of your ways," Lucifer said before waving his hand, causing Sam to be set ablaze._

 _Sam screamed as Lucifer left him alone to burnt to a crisp. Lucifer liked to do what when he was bored. He'd just leave Sam to suffer alone and come back to 'play' later._

 _The flames didn't last nearly as long as Sam expected. He soon felt it stop. Followed by a pair of hands freeing him from the wall. He fell to the floor in a heap. He watched as the archangel in his brother's body sat down next to him._

" _Was it really worth it?" Michael asked. His voice was kind and curious._

" _It's b…better than the world ending," Sam said. He then watched as Michael touched him and some of his injuries healed._

" _That's the best I can do. This place was meant for Lucifer's Grace, not mine. That's why I really can't stop him from torturing you either," Michael explained._

" _Why are you helping me at all? I'm the reason you're stuck here," Sam said._

" _No, you're not. I am stuck here for a reason, probably to learn some sort of lesson," Michael said._

" _What?"_

" _I don't believe in free will, Sam. I don't believe that anyone's will but my father's could lead to me being trapped here. He sent me here for a reason. Though I admit, I don't understand what that reason is. I've always been a good son. I don't understand why I'm being punished for it. But there must be a good reason," Michael said._

" _You remind me of my brother, aside from the free will philosophy. He always talked about being a good son and our father having his reasons for everything," Sam said._

" _That's because he's my vessel. Vessel's are made into the image of the angel they were designed to hold. At least that's what I believed until you," Michael said._

" _What do you mean," Sam asked._

" _You were supposed to be like Lucifer, but your not. There are some characteristics, but when tempted with demon blood, you didn't go off the deep end. You didn't become evil and cruel, like Lucifer. If anything, you're like he was before he fell. I suppose that is the answer to your question of why I'm helping you. You remind me of the brother that was taken from me. Plus, no one deserves to suffer by Lucifer's hand," Michael said._

 _Just then, Lucifer came back into view. "Michael, what are you doing with my new toy."_

" _Don't, Lucifer," Michael practically growled._

 _Lucifer held his hand up, throwing his older brother threw the air across the cage. Then he grabbed Sam by the ankle and dragged him along. "Time for us to have some more fun, Sammy."_

 _Dream_

Sam woke up with a start. He was sweating, breathing heavily, and his heart was racing as he relieved the hell that was over a hundred years of his life.

Sam looked over at Dean and sighed in relief to know that his brother had been undisturbed by his nightmare. He then quickly got up and headed into the bathroom. He turned the water on and splashed cold water on his face.

"Michael," Sam whispered. He hadn't really remembered much about Michael until recently. The insanity he'd had must have just been too much to allow all his memories of the cage to the surface. Now that it was gone though, all those memories came to the front.

Michael was not as terrible as he and Dean thought he was. Yes, he'd fought for the apocalypse, but that was because it was unavoidable in his eyes. To him, it was God's will, and that couldn't be circumvented. Sam didn't think he was right, but it was how Michael had seen it.

Sam had gotten a good look at who the archangel really was when they were both trapped in the cage. Michael had gone out of his way to help Sam. He tried to protect him from Lucifer. He couldn't all the time, but he tried. That meant something. He was probably the only reason things weren't much worse for Sam. And now Michael was still trapped there.

Michael being trapped in the cage didn't sit well with Sam. Michael didn't belong in the cage, and Sam couldn't leave him there. The archangel had been the only thing that resembled a saving grace for Sam in Hell. After over a century there together, Sam would definitely call him a friend. He couldn't and wouldn't leave him there to rot.


	3. Chapter 3

A week or so later, Sam found himself back at the mental institution they'd left Cas at. Dean was on a case by himself. He'd convinced Dean to take a small job on his own, saying that he needed to rest for a few days. In actuality, Sam intended to go see Cas and try to find out how to open the cage. Aside from Death, Cas was the only one that Sam knew who could get into the Cage. Sam decided that Cas would be more helpful than Death, which was saying a lot since Cas was insane.

Sam entered Cas' room and saw the angel on his bed muttering to himself incoherently. "Cas?"

Castiel gave no indication that he'd even heard Sam.

"Cas, I know that it's hard, but I need you to try to see past whatever is in your head right now and look at me," Sam said. He knew he was asking a lot. He'd been in Cas' place. He knew it was next to impossible to get past the hallucination. But Sam needed Cas. He was the only one Sam knew that knew how, and might be willing, to help him free Michael.

Once again, Castiel did nothing but mutter to himself.

"I need to know how to open the Cage. You got in, so I know there's a way. Please, I need your help," Sam said.

"Not real. Nothing's real anymore. I deserve it. It's my fault," Castiel mumbled to himself.

Sam felt his jaw clench as he began to get angry. He thought of everything that had happened since his body was pulled from the cage without his soul. He thought of everything Castiel had done to him, and what he hadn't done for Michael. "You're damn right it is. You ruined my life! You decided to literally play God! You sucked at it. You were careless. You pulled my body from the Cage without even trying make sure that my soul was with it!" Sam knew that for a fact because he remembered the day the angel had come for him.

 _Flashback_

 _Sam laid bloody on the ground after one of his 'sessions' with Lucifer. At least this time the bastard hadn't left him tied to something. He'd let him rest on the ground, a very rare comfort._

 _Sam soon felt a comforting hand on him. He knew it wasn't Lucifer's. Lucifer's hand was never comforting. "Michael?"_

" _I am here, Sam. I will do the best I can to heal you," Michael said._

" _Why bother? He'll just rip me apart again," Sam said in a defeated voice._

 _Despite Sam's words, Michael used his power to heal Sam as much as possible. Then he placed a hand to Sam's forehead and a glow appeared. Seconds later, he picked the human up and carried him several feet away._

 _As Michael carried him, Sam looked over to where he once was and saw his own body lay in a heap where he had just been. He was beyond confused, as he knew he was in Michael's arms. How could he be seeing his own body? "I don't understand."_

" _It is something I've been thinking of trying since just after the last time Lucifer grabbed you. I wasn't sure it would work, but it has. I have separated your soul from your body. I'm hoping it will trick Lucifer for a little while. This way you can at least have a longer rest," Michael explained. He then placed Sam on the ground and propped him against the wall before sitting next to him._

 _Sam watched as his body twitched. "It's still moving."_

 _Michael nodded. "The body is fully functional without the soul. It can live, walk, and talk. It can even still remember everything that's happened in its life. But it's mainly just a body, it has no personality, no emotions. It would kill and not care. It's like a robot."_

" _It's strange," Sam said as he continued to stare._

" _Yes. It's not something that should happen under normal circumstances, but we are trapped in a cage, so I don't see the harm," Michael said._

 _Sam nodded. "Yeah, there's no one here, but us, and we'll never get out."_

 _Michael looked at the young hunter next to him. "We will get out of here one day, Sam. My father or siblings will come, and we will get out. When that happens, I will take your soul to Heaven myself."_

 _Sam stared at him in awe. "Heaven? After everything I've done, you'd let me go to Heaven?"_

" _You've done nothing that we didn't force upon you. And still, you were better than we expected you to be. You didn't succumb to Lucifer. You fought with everything you had to do what you thought was right. When this is over, you will come to Heaven with me. You can finally rest," Michael promised._

" _That… that sounds wonderful. It doesn't seem possible though, not when we're here," Sam said before putting his arms around himself and shivering. "It's so cold here. Should I be able to feel cold without a body? And isn't it supposed to be hot in Hell?"_

" _That's a common misconception," Michael said before pulling the hunter into his arms. "Hell isn't hot, nor is it consumed in fire."_

 _Sam leaned into Michael's touch. He was really cold, and the archangel's touch helped. He wasn't sure how long he'd laid like that with Michael. It could've been hours or days. Time stopped existing to him after he jumped into the Cage._

" _No! Stop!" Michael suddenly yelled._

 _Sam flinched. At first, he thought Lucifer had found them, but as he turned to see what Michael was looking at, he saw Castiel by his body. "Cas? What is he doing here?"_

" _Castiel, don't!" Michael yelled. He was too late though. The seraph had placed a hand on Sam's body and disappeared._

" _What just happened? Is he taking my body back home?" Sam asked._

 _Michael held onto the human in his arms tightly. "Sam, listen to me. I need you to remember what I said about bodies sand souls. Bodies without souls are merely vessels. A soul is what makes a person, and a soul is not responsible for what his body does."_

" _I don't understand."_

" _Just remember that," Michael said._

 _Flashback_

Sam did remember Michael's words. The archangel was trying to tell him that what he did without a soul wouldn't be his fault. Michael knew what was going to happen when Cas got his body back home.

Sam also remembered how careless Cas had been. He remembered Michael telling him to stop and Castiel wouldn't listen. "He yelled at you to stop. I know you heard him. You ignored him! You probably thought he wanted you to take him with you, like that would be so bad. But all he wanted was for you to take my soul as well. And you wouldn't even turn to look at him. You left us both there! You left your own brother in Hell!"

Sam felt the rage he had build up inside him even more. Honestly, he was the most angry that Cas had abandoned Michael. He was mad on his own behalf as well, but he was out of the Cage, Michael wasn't. "Michael didn't belong there. He made mistakes, but he wasn't evil. He wasn't like Lucifer. He did everything he could to protect me, even though I put him into that place. You just left him there. Then you tore down my wall, so you could go head to head with Raphael without our interference! You destroyed so many lives!"

Castiel looked at him as though he understood what was being said for a minute, but then he just started muttering to himself again.

Sam sighed. "You're not gonna be any help to me at all, are you? Fine. I'll figure out another way to save Michael."

Sam began to walk away, but stopped when he hit the door. "I doubt you'll hear me, but If you can, I want you to know how much I hate you. I don't think I've ever hated anyone more," he said before walking out the door.


End file.
